


Anders Gets All the Cats

by protect-him (dooliandrake)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Cats, Fluff, M/M, and lots of cats, that's really just it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 16:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11108802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dooliandrake/pseuds/protect-him
Summary: Inspired bythis postand someone wanted Anders on the bench. So here he is.





	Anders Gets All the Cats

Anders should have been back by now. Fenris was pacing furiously, his nerves completely frayed by the mage’s absence.

Anders not returning by dark was worrying, but not unusual. Anders not returning by the time they usually went to bed was troubling. Anders still not home several hours _later_ was enough to get Fenris pacing the floor and trying not to panic. Enough was enough, though. Anders could be anywhere, but he wasn’t _here_ , and Fenris’s chances of finding him were slim if he went out, but nothing if he stayed home.

Most likely, he would be at his clinic and Fenris would drag him home with only a minor scolding. But if he wasn’t...Fenris didn’t like to think about the things that could have happened. Darktown was a dangerous place. 

He stalked into the clinic half an hour later, desperately hoping he'd see Anders there at his desk or tending a sick patient. But the clinic was empty. Fenris would have been happy to find the mage alone and asleep in his bed if it meant he found him. But now his search elsewhere began.

He combed the streets of Darktown, circled the alienage, and wandered the maze that was Lowtown with no sign of his mage. He stopped in the Hanged Man, but Anders was nowhere to be found. Varric hadn’t seen him either. Fenris kept going. He was tired and worried, trudging down yet another empty street, when he saw a cat disappear down a side street. Cats equaled Anders, so Fenris jogged forward to follow it, stopping short in his tracks when he saw that a rather attractive bench structure was set up along one side of the street, complete with an awning. The benches stretched to the other end of the alley. Fenris was a little confused that he’d never seen this particular side street before, and even more confused that while the last few streets he’d been down had been entirely deserted, the benches were not. They were occupied not by people, but by cats. There were probably twenty cats down the length of the benches. The one Fenris had been following was bouncing towards the far end of the street. And there, stretched out on the bench, was Anders. Of _course_ Anders would be here, drawn to cats like a moth to a flame.

Fenris approached the mage and found him asleep. Anders looked so peaceful and happy with several cats sleeping on him, Fenris didn’t have the heart to wake him. Instead, he began the arduous task of moving each cat into his mansion. He could only carry one at a time, and it was twenty-three trips before he was removing the last one from on top of Anders. This one turned out to be one of the feistier ones, and Fenris returned to the side street with several more bleeding scratches on his arms and one just above his collarbone.

“Anders,” he bent down to shake Anders awake. “You should come home.”

Anders sat up and looked very disappointed to find the cats gone.

“I swear,” he stammered, “there were cats here. I didn’t just lay down on a bench for no reason.”

Fenris gave Anders what he hoped would pass as a sympathetic smile. He almost let the corners of his lips give him away, too, when he thought about all the cats that had happily began roaming the mansion. Several had laid down immediately on the bed.

“It seems that you were having a good dream,” Fenris said, gently taking Anders’ arm and pulling him upright.

“I know you don’t really like cats,” Anders whined, “but you have to believe me. They were all over. One was laying on me—right here!” He pointed to his chest, where Fenris had picked up the last cat.

“Come on,” Fenris urged. “Let’s go home. I’ve been out looking for you for hours.”

Anders looked dejected. He scuffed his boot and matched pace with Fenris.

“I am sorry, Fenris,” he said, fidgeting with his hands. He wasn’t yet sure that Fenris would appreciate holding his hand. “I didn’t think that you’d be waiting up for me.”

“I always do, Mage,” Fenris said, but he wore a soft smile. When they approached the front door, Fenris frowned in concentration. He thought he heard a faint sound of something scraping against wood. Was there some kind of abomination approaching? He put a hand on his sword hilt. Anders didn’t seem to hear it, so Fenris followed him to the front door cautiously.

“I am sure ready for bed,” Anders commented as he pushed open the door. The scraping sound stopped abruptly, as did Anders. Fenris bumped into the mage’s back.

“It’s...it’s Duke Whiskers…” Anders whispered, his voice hushed with awe. “Am I dreaming?”

Fenris rubbed at his nose where he’d bumped it into Anders’ bony back.

“You’re not dreaming. Move and let me inside,” Fenris said, nudging the mage playfully.

“How did _he_ get here?” Anders asked, moving away from the door and crouching down to coo at the little grey cat that had now turned to Anders and was rubbing enthusiastically against his knees and hands.

Fenris closed the door with a soft and noncommittal _hmmph_.

“Okay, okay,” Anders said, standing up and taking Duke Whiskers with him, “bed. You’re probably tired, Fenris. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Anders’s steps slowed, though, as he approached the stairs. Eight of the dozen steps were occupied with cats.

“Fenris…” Anders whispered, as if speaking any louder would break the spell.

“Bed, Anders,” Fenris said, making his way up the steps and between the cats that sat on the ends of the steps.

“Where did they come from?” Anders asked, mechanically following Fenris.

“What come from?” Fenris asked, pushing open the bedroom door.

“That’s-that’s Timothy Toe-Beans!” Anders gasped, staring at one of the cats on the bed. “Fenris, that’s the cat that was sleeping on me!”

“Yes, it is,” Fenris said, already shedding his gauntlets and tunic. Anders turned to him in surprise and Fenris gently took Duke Whiskers from his hands and set him on the bed before beginning to pull at the clasps on Anders’ coat.

“It is!” Anders repeated excitedly.

“I know,” Fenris said patiently. Anders was now helping him. He changed into his sleep shirt as quickly as he could and beelined for the bed, pulling Fenris after him.

“How did they get here?” He asked. “All of these cats, they’re the ones from that little side street where I fell asleep. Are they all here?”

“Yes, they’re all here,” Fenris said, sliding his legs under the covers and around the cats who refused to budge.

“Why?” Anders asked. He followed Fenris’s example, lying down and shifting the covers to accommodate the cats.

“I wanted to see you smile,” Fenris said, settling onto his pillow.

“You know that we have to keep them all now,” Anders said, his eyes softening as they focused on his love.

“I know,” Fenris said. “If they make you happy, then they make me happy. But you’re cleaning up after them.”

“ _All_ of them?” Anders gasped.

“Unless you don’t want them?” Fenris smirked.

“I want all of them,” Anders said, reaching to pull Fenris to him. He slid his head nearer to meet the elf in a kiss. 

“I thought so,” Fenris said once they finally pulled apart, both slightly breathless, “but you have to let me name one.”

“Anything for you, love,” Anders said. “I can’t believe you carried all of those cats here. How many _are_ there?”

“Twenty-four,” Fenris said, without hesitation. “And Timothy Twinkle-Toes has exceptionally sharp claws.”

“Timothy Toe-Beans,” Anders corrected, gently taking one of Fenris’s hands in his and raising it up to his lips. He kissed the back of Fenris’s hand, and then kissed the cuts from the claws. Fenris huffed, pulling his arm away and snuggled closer to Anders, accidentally kicking the cat that was settled between their legs. It stood up, offended, and stretched lazily before stepping over Fenris’s legs to lie down again on the other side.

“Thank you,” Anders said softly, wrapping his arms around Fenris as they prepared to fall asleep. “I never thought you would let me have a cat.”

“That only made the surprise all the more sweet,” Fenris said, closing his eyes.

“Good night, love,” Anders said.

“Night,” Fenris said, turning his head to peck a quick kiss to Anders’ nose. A hearty purr crescendoed from somewhere near their feet, lulling them both into a happy sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, trying to actually post something again. Thanks for any kudos and comments, they are always appreciated. I'm over at [protect-him](http://protect-him.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr if you want to drop by.


End file.
